Asian & Pacific Islander American Heritage Month - Cookbooks & Food

Not to make light of social, political, religious, economic, or territorial differences, but there can be some serious disagreements about food and its preparation. Outside a Los Angeles ethnic market, two men were overheard having a very heated argument about the proper types of “grinding” for coffee. In his recordings cited below, Charles Perry, co-founder of the Culinary Historians of Southern California, talks about the serious and joyous aspects of food. For countries and cultures with centuries of history, culinary traditions are an important part of secular and religious celebrations, and taken very seriously.

Angeleno and first-generation Filipino American, Marvin Gapultos, found a calling in making Filipino cuisine better known. This was accomplished in several ways: his blog Burnt Lumpia, The Manila Machine (a food truck), and in this cookbook.

There is a legend that when Alexander of Macedon, in his conquest of the world, laid siege to an Armenian fortress, on the fourth day a white sheet of lavash was hung on the fortress wall. The Macedonian solders shouted, “The Armenians are giving up. They hang the white flag!” Alexander said, “It is bread, not a white flag. It seems to me that they want peace. They send us a message that we are here on earth to eat and live, not to fight.” And Alexander continued his journey. Filled with rich cultural references, folklore, humor, and recipes, this book is a culinary journey of Armenia that will delight anyone, who at one time or another has been interested in culinary traditions of one of the world's most ancient cultures.

A large format cookbook which combines secular and religious history, with the customs and recipes of, what was, the Aleppian Jewish community in Syria. Numerous photographs (color and black and white) throughout the book.

A grand cookbook with detailed information about ingredients and techniques; a concise history of Korea and its regions, festivals and celebrations, eating traditions and etiquette, street food and snacks. There are double-spread color photographs throughout with smaller photos of preparation methods.

Chinese cooking has specific techniques which are very exacting. However, the recipes in this book make it possible for everyone to prepare some of the well-known dishes without being a master cook. The recipes are easy to do!

Food historian, journalist, and co-founder of the Culinary Historians of Southern California, Charles Perry presents a history of the foods, the cooking utensils, and insights about the influence of politics on the cuisine of Uzbekistan. This is a recording of the lecture presented by Charles Perry at the Culinary Historians of Southern California meeting, January 12, 2013.

Fortune cookies are only part of the story here. Lee takes readers on a journey through the history of Chinese food with a particular emphasis on the dishes that Americans are most familiar with. You'll learn the rise of the Chinese takeout restaurant, go inside the soy sauce wars, and uncover the surprising truth about General Tso's chicken.

This is the comprehensive guide to all aspects of Japanese cooking: history; simple and complex recipes; techniques (slicing, grilling, steaming, simmering, frying, and more); specifics on rice, noodles and sushi; detailed drawings. The twenty-fifth anniversary edition has a wonderful appreciation from Ruth Reichl who had asked M.F.K. Fisher for advice about visiting Japan. Fisher recommended this book, however Reichl was not going to be cooking. "No," she [M.F.K. Fisher] said in her sphinx-like way, "It is much more than a cookbook."

This is a gorgeous cookbook, not only for the color photographs and recipes, but because it pays homage to the diversity, history, and glory of a city that has endured over the centuries. Ottolenghi and Tamimi present us with the complex history of this ancient city through the historical origins of different types of foods and recipes. As in his previous books, Plenty: Vibrant Vegetable Recipes from London's Ottolenghi and Ottolenghi: The Cookbook, Yotam Ottolenghi keeps bringing us recipes for exceptionally good food.

Soon Young Chung provides practical tips and methods so that everyone can prepare healthy, tasty Korean recipes. There are color photographs on every page, and a brief history of the cuisine and methods of preparation.

Angeleno and rising star in the L.A. culinary landscape, Roy Choi chronicles--with charisma and sincerity--the story of his life and the Los Angeles food scene. From Korean taco inventor with his Kogi truck, to Chego to community-based inititiatives in the inner city, Choi is much more than a celebrity chef. Includes 85 recipes.

It is not necessary to cook to delight in this spectacularly beautiful and informative cookbook from the knowledgable Fuchsia Dunlop, English writer and Chinese food expert. She explores the culture and food traditions of the Jiangnan region. "Jiangnan spans the eastern coastal provinces of Zhejiang and Jiangsu, the city of Shanghai and that part of southern Anhui province known as Huizhou," and is known "as the land of fish and rice." Dunlop's thorough presentation of this region's food will be of particular interest to those who love Chinese cuisine.

A beautiful book with vibrant photographs of prepared foods and scenes in Lebanon. Main dishes include meat, poultry and fish, but the delectable array of vegetable dishes could convert any omnivore to a vegan. At the end of this comprehensive book is a selection of recipes from notable chefs and food writers

What country or place is the origin of the noodle, aka pasta, and to which should credit be given--China or Italy, or does it matter? Jen Lin-Liu travels from east to west, starting in western China, moving through central Asia, Iran, Turkey, Greece and Italy, and retraces selected parts of the Silk Route whose travelers became the great disseminators of products and ideas. She eats good food along the way, learns new cooking techniques, however as for the answer to the noodle's origin, she concludes that because of the travel and trade on the Silk Route, "The answer was lost in the steppes of Central Asia, the deserts of Iran, and the mountains and valleys of Asia Minor."

In Japan, art and food meld into one, from the small local eatery to the more revered restaurants. Matt Goulding editor at the online journal Roads & Kingdoms, savors and appreciates the works of "shokunins" or artisans who take pride in the preparation and presentation of food. Goulding conveys such delight in what he experiences that readers will be salivating and dreaming of taking a foodie trip to Japan.

Korean-American Edward Lee raises the bar on great fusion food. His Korean grandmother cooked every day in a very tiny windowless kitchen in Brooklyn. Her traditional foods became a lodestone for Lee's new location in Louisville, Kentucky where he found many parallels in cooking: a love of pickling, BBQ, jerky, and always, always loads of complex flavors. Edward Lee has given us a lovely book to read, with stories, information and recipes. Full-page color photographs amplify the mouthwatering recipes.

To bring money and attention to the crisis in Syria, photographer Barbara Abdeni Massaad asked world food writers, chefs and others to contribute a favorite soup recipe to a cookbook. Working with Interlink Press, the profits of the cookbook project “ . . . will be donated to the UN Refugee Agency UNHCR to provide urgently needed food relief for Syrian refugees.”

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